Thursday, December 18, 2014

Bridget Wants to Know How You Find New Releases and Debut Novels

In preparing some of my Top Ten Tuesdays for 2015, I’ve been forced to enter an unfamiliar world: the world of new releases. In general, I don’t track new releases unless they’re by J. K. Rowling or Stephen King, in which case there’ll be enough press around them that I don’t have to go out of my way to do any research on them.

What I want to know is: how does the rest of the reading world find and know about all these new releases coming out? Am I living under a rock?

Writing about my Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels for 2015 (which I’m just now realizing I did wrong, I just did 2015 new releases, but I’m not rewriting it now, sorry) was a huge struggle. I ended up culling a few HuffPost and Book Riot lists for books I thought I’d be interested in, and used those as a jumping-off point on Amazon to find “related items” that would also be released in 2015. I actually ended up with 11 books in the end, but—as I mentioned above—I’m pretty sure most of them aren’t debut novels at all. I know a few are, but certainly not the majority.

So, blogger friends, tell me: where do you find new releases, particularly debut novels, that strike your fancy? I peruse NetGalley on occasion, but much less these days as I have enough hard copy books to last me a while and it’s hard for me to concentrate when I’m reading on my iPad. (I’m actually thinking about selling it because I hardly ever use it, so I’m also trying to distance myself from it a little bit.) I also haven’t found a whole lot to love on NetGalley. I’ll occasionally find something that piques my interest, but by the time I’m approved for it, I’m not as interested as I was, and I forget about it. Out of all the titles I’ve downloaded from NetGalley, I’ve probably read 20% of them all the way through and enjoyed an even smaller percentage.

I’m also quite a bit less into YA than most of my TBTB compatriots, so while there seems to be no shortage of YA novels getting churned out, most of that volume is lost on me.


I’ve finally begun to use Twitter a bit more fluently (@thebookishmilso, should you want to follow me), and I’ve followed a couple of authors and a LOT of publishers, so maybe that will help? I don’t know. Guys, I’m really clueless here. Help a sister out?

28 comments:

  1. Netgalley, Edelweiss, Shelf Awareness Newsletter, Goodreads, authors' sites, other bloggers. That's where I get mine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I use Netgalley, Edelweiss, and the Shelf Awareness newsletter. I also follow a bunch of authors on Twitter - they always seem to be talking about their friends' upcoming books. And the Listopia feature on Goodreads is a great way to find them. I do a simple search on them like "Spring 2015 releases," and it shows all the lists. Sometimes people add old books to the list, but the Goodreads Librarians do a good job at cleaning them out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I struggle with this too. I ended up signing up for e-newsletters that come directly from the publishers I like and they always tell you about their upcoming releases. Just pick a few of your favorites and you should be good to go.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was actually wondering about the same thing a few days ago. I wasn't able to find any info on new releases on Goodreads, which is usually my place to go if I want to know anything book related. I'll be keeping an eye on this post to see what people's reactions are! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Bridget, Usually I look up books thru Goodreads under listopia lists and I follow and socialize on twitter a lot. Bloggers always have awesome recommendations. So be sure to follow some you have similar tastes with. Another way is to like author’s Social Media’s sites and websites. Authors are always keeping readers updated on what their working on and sometimes recommend books from other authors as well. Hope this help you find awesome books. Happy reading xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I get all mine from Goodreads because I can type in a specific genre and it'll give me a list of the newly released and upcoming titles. Also, the shelves of Barnes and Noble.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like to browse through publishers' catalogs for the upcoming season. I also get a lot of them from other bloggers' wish lists and looking forward to lists.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like to do this as well. I can't always find the catalogs for bigger publishers, but they usually have a blog or section on their website about upcoming books.

      Delete
  8. I read mostly nonfiction and do a LOT of "window shopping", so I often see upcoming releases in the Related section of the books I am looking at.

    Fiction: Most of my fiction is discovering stuff that's long been in print, but I haunt a few authors' pages (like Bernard Cornwell) to see if they're planning anything soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I feel like I'm in the same boat as you! HOW DOES EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT ALL THESE BOOKS THAT HAVEN'T EVEN COME OUT YET??!?!! I mostly find out from other bloggers, but even then it's usually weeks after they first heard about it. Thanks for writing about this, I found the other comments to be very helpful. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Edelweiss is where it's at! It takes some time to learn the ropes (I've done a few tutorials to help), but there's actually a way to keyword search summaries for certain words...so you can look for "debut".

    ReplyDelete
  11. Netgalley is my main source for new new reads, but I am trying to back away from there in order to get through some of my paperbooks.

    I follow quite a few publishers on twitter and Facebook (HarperCollins, Book View Cafe, Doubleday etc) and interact with them - quite often they'll offer pre-release paper books in exchange for reviews.

    Both Goodreads and Librarything offer free books in exchange for reviews - I have more success with the latter than the former if I'm honest, but trawling both lists are good for finding out authors who have a book out in the next few months.

    If you have a name of an author you might be interested in - set up a google alert for when a new post goes up mentioning them and sooner or later you'll get to know when a new book comes out.

    If you're on Goodreads, Librarything or Facebook, search for groups who talk about the types of books or authors you are interested in e.g. Virago, Persephone, Underrated British authors of the 20th century etc.....whilst these are not necessarily "new" authors, they might be new TO YOU and therefore expand your horizons.

    Follow booksellers on which ever media you like and see what they're talking about.

    Where I live there are plenty of local publishers (e.g. Tindal Street Press and Pigeon Park Press) with local authors. Interact with your local publishers/authors and see if there are any with new books coming out. See if your local library can stock the books, and if anyone is willing to set up a group where authors or publishers are willing to give a talk (and sell their books at the end) - or do it yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like to go to Amazon. They have a great search engine there that lets you filter books. Say, you want to see what's coming out in January. Just put in January, then 2015 or whatever year you're in and voila, you will get a list of all the books coming out that month. A good way to narrow it down, is to go to the sidebar and click on the genres. All YA is under teen and young adult. The only thing is, you have to be careful sometimes because they do also just put new additions under there. If you're not sure about the dates, double check it on Goodreads, which tends to have more accurate info. But Amazon is a good way to get an idea of what's available.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Another suggestion: Follow Long and Shortlists of Book Awards (e.g. Costa, Samuel Johnson, Booker Prize etc). They will bring up authors you will never have heard of, some of whom will be debut authors. Work through who you want to follow and read. Don't restrict which country's list you follow - e.g. if in America, follow the Irish and English lists as an established author in one area may be new in another.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I look at Netgalley but also look at publishers' catalogs through above the treeline. I don't request books there but it allows me to keep a spreadsheet with titles that I am really excited about. I also try to stay on newsletter lists for my favorite authors/publishers so that I get a reminder before books are shipped to stores.

    Finally, as you mentioned, twitter is invaluable. I LOVE following authors and publishers and how much engagement goes on there.

    ReplyDelete
  15. GGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDRRRRRRREEEEEAAADDDDDDDDDDDSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  16. Goodreads listopia. I search YA 2015 and there's a list of the most prominent titles. :)

    -P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex

    ReplyDelete
  17. Edelweiss catalogs, fellow bloggers, Goodreads listopia, and Publishers Weekly deal announcements!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This post is so timely for me, and reading all of the comments has been immensely helpful! Thanks for putting yourself out there this way!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I browse my shelves which I've sorted into 2015 and 15-debuts. So because that's already sorted, I find it easy to look at upcoming books, but it does take time to sort them. My advice to you is: Goodreads. Type in to the search bar what you're looking for, say 'debut 15', and click the Listopia tab. Or if you'd rather use Google to get there: type in (e.g.) 15 debuts Goodreads. Easy!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I was wondering the same thing! The comments are very enlightening - although I'm a little afraid of looking at coming releases because I already have such a huge TBR stack.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I use Netgalley and Edelweiss too but the listopia section on GoodReads is also really useful! I just type in a few key words like "2015 debut" and then you can see some lists made about it. You of course have to check whether it's actually a debut because sometimes they add wrong books but the Listopia section has definitely helped me out several times!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I found out about new releases via Waiting on Wednesday or Top Ten Tuesday or, like the others said, Netgalley and Edelweiss! Goodreads is also good as there are several lists that contain the books being released next year! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think I'm in the same boat as you. About the only time I find out about new releases are from the "big" authors,cos they get a lot of press (mainstream press, not specifically book press), or from Netgalley, or from reading other people's posts. For authors I particularly like and follow, I check their blogs from time to time to get release dates. But that's about it. Like you, I'm not a YA reader which can be tricky as all the book blogs I seem to visit are VERY YA orientated...so yeah, I have trouble too finding out what new books are coming out.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post. I was wondering the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  25. For me, it's Waiting on Wednesday posts and books I see on Netgalley, plus new books from favourite authors of mine. Although I don't read that main new releases, at least compared to other bloggers.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I follow blogs that try to collect all the cover reveals for the week together and click through on all the books that look like they are in my favorite genres, then add the books that look interesting to my watchlist :D

    ReplyDelete
  27. I kind of look stuff up on Goodreads, or just find recommendations from others. I just don't have the time for NetGalley anymore and I kind of feel like you where I get all excited about a book and request it, then when I get it, I'm not as excited. :( I've stopped requesting galleys for that reason. I think it's helped me get excited about books again! But yeah, I totally feel out of the loop sometimes ... I don't know half of the debut authors people are talking about!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails